Embedding Detention Reform in State Statutes, Rules and Regulations

Across the country, the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) has created effective reforms that reduce unnecessary reliance on secure confinement of youth, improve public safety, cut costs and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.

While JDAI sites routinely implement administrative policy changes at the local jurisdiction level to support reform efforts, adopting new state policies can deepen effective detention reform. New state policies — when implemented well — help bring local efforts to scale and sustain successful efforts at detention reform. This manual is designed to guide sites in identifying needed policy change and drafting policies — including statutes, regulations and fiscal policy — that support the core strategies of JDAI.

This publication is a product of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative and was created by Juvenile Law Center. The Annie E. Casey Foundation created JDAI — a multi-year, multi-site effort to create a safer, fairer detention system while championing the use of more effective, efficient alternatives to secure confinement.